I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

It is a ridiculous notion that social media is some paradigm-shifting phenomenon whose waters can only be successfully navigated by people with the word “guru” in their LinkedIn profile. Here’s a bit of honest-true reality. Social media is nothing new — take it from somebody who has been blogging since 1997.

People haven’t changed. It’s only the tools that they—-and we-—have at our disposal that have evolved.

Before we spoke to one another at the water cooler. Today we communicate together on Twitter.

Before we listened to our customers in focus groups to develop insights. Today we listen with Google Alerts, Twilerts and ListenLogic to develop insights.

Before people responded to incentives like coupons. Today people respond to incentives like recognition, self-validation, utility—-and coupons.

Before we tried to get audiences to “click here.” Today we try to get them to “comment here.”

Big agencies and the status quo
Then why is the marketing universe freaking out? Why are big agencies completely unprepared to deal?

The answer to the first question is easy. They’re freaking out precisely because they’ve relied for so long on those big agencies who are completely unprepared to deal.

The second answer became clear to me at the iMedia Agency Summit where I saw the other Adam K. a few weeks back. A question was put to the audience during a participatory session on social media: “What does media mean today?”

My table consisted of very “new media” group: the CEO of Six Apart, the lead evangelist from Eyeblaster, a couple of women from AdFusion content network and me. We talked about media being not just new streams of communication flowing out of corporations, but ones flowing back in as well. Fairly thoughtful stuff if you ask me.

When responses from the audience were taken someone from one of those big agencies grabbed the mike a few tables over.

“Media is anything you can buy.”

Therein lies the rub. There was a great deal of talk at the Agency Summit about the “monetization” of social media. Big agencies make most of their money buying media and charging a substantial commission for it. In their eyes, media has to be limited to what they can pay someone else to place in order for it to fit into their model.

Sadly for them, those eyes are attached to their head. Which is buried in the sand. It’s too hard to change their model, so they ignore it and cling to how things have always been done.

Small agencies positioned to win
Meanwhile, smaller, nimble agencies are there to pick up the pieces. Because we are nimble, adapting our model to changing times isn’t as onerous. Because we are smaller, we can provide valuable consultation and management services that contribute to the bottom line in a meaningful way.

For instance, I believe that there is an inherent flaw in the media commission model. Whenever an agency has a financial incentive to provide one service over another, they are motivated to act out of self-interest rather than the best interest of their client.

Try telling that to an agency exec earning 11% on a $200 million media buy.

Adam Kleinberg is the CEO of Traction, a creative agency with a digital core on the California Street cable car line in San Francisco. Traction has designed cross-channel brand experiences for some of the world’s greatest brands, including Apple, Virgin Mobile, Adobe, Bank of America, Walmart.com, Norton, Alibaba.com, CamelBak and Clos du Bois. They were named BtoB Magazine’s 2009 Interactive Agency of the Year.

By Keith Privette in Guest Blogger find me tweeting out

Consumers have become content producing machines; I guess that is somewhat of an understatement! They blog, connect, chat, email, status update, tweet, write reviews, post pictures and videos, and comment on each other’s blogs (that should be a good start).  I have been noticing somewhat of a concerning path The Consumer is taking in this ever changing world of being connected to Businesses and the “gotcha mentality”.  The basic premise of the “gotcha mentality” is that people (consumers), bloggers, social media aficionados, and other businesses (I rarely see this one but it sure would add to the conversation) go in search of the missteps, failures, and chances companies take in this new world of connectedness and flame them any which way they can, for what?  In the very rare occasion it sparks a good discussion.  So Consumers time for skin in the game! Time to put your money where your blog is!

We the consumers have been rather vocal about wanting openness, transparency and honesty of the people we purchase and use goods and services from.  So businesses have listened to surveys, case studies, and market research and said “ok we can do this!”  So the venture into the world of social media and for the next six months every blogger, every reviewer, and social media aficionado produce mountains of content and noise about all the failure, missteps, and chances businesses take to be open, transparent, and honest.  Do you see the contradiction you have set up for businesses that are trying based on your behalf?  Now I am not saying businesses should not be held account and responsible for their actions, but there are proactive ways to really truly start building these communities you have asked for!

So, you’re following a business on twitter, have a RSS feed from a company’s blog, you a fan on a facebook page and following an industry tracking website.  With all these connectednesses there are ways you should be a proactive advocate to help build and grow these relationships!  We should implore the Honey tactics here!

The first thing you should do as a good advocate is DO YOUR RESEARCH! Not all things you read or see are what they seem at first glance.  Believe me I have caught myself leaping before doing this critical step.  This first step helps you understand perspective, both the companies and your own.

The second thing to do is reach out to the company in a very proactive and calm manner.  The channel you choose and how you approach this conversation is the best first step you can take for starting a dialogue to help the community you want to build.

The biggest advices I can offer is try and make it privately to give the dialogue a chance to happen.  If the company is on twitter use the direct message or DM.  Sometimes you may have to ask for a follow which is ok to ask for.  Locate the Contact Us on the company’s website and send them an explanation of your perspective.  If a fan on the company’s fan page on facebook you can send a message through your InBox.  All these are effective channels for communicating your perspective to a company you are choosing to help.  That is the key to this approach Help!  I am making the assumption as adults we know the best approach to the communication.

Now for the payoff, to make the full circle of engagement work to really grow and build these communities for success even in the midst of mistakes, missteps, and risk taking.  Work with the company about how to express the interactions to establish true openness, transparency and honesty.  If you have a blog write about your experiences with care, kindness, and constructive appraisals and encourage people to write comments to further the conversation.  Give a tweetout on twitter about the engagement you had with the company and direct to your blog.  Write a status update on the company’s fan page and include links to helpful information.  Lastly, if the company has a blog or something like it, encourage them to do a write up on the experience also.  Once they take this action use your community of followers and direct them to this write up.

Hopefully with these few tips we can all learn to interact to calmly discuss experiences and move away from the “gotcha” mentality.  These tips will really make this whole new world of the interconnectedness of businesses and consumers really become beneficial for all that are involved.  To be open, honest and transparent I have not always taken my own advice when it comes to these tips, but about a year ago I started thinking and acting in these exact ways and believe it or not, companies truly want our help in this way.  Businesses and people (yes one thing to remember there are always people behind the channels you are choosing to interact with, thanks John Bernier for that advice!) are very receptive when you approach the interaction and experience with care and calmness to make the products and services better for the greater good.  Now I know you may think this is fluff and feely, but I feel and think we all have a chance to “#chainreact” to really make a difference.

We need to start approaching these channels from a different perspective!

I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

“The reason social media is so difficult for most organizations

It’s a process, not an event.

Dating is a process. So is losing weight, being a public company and building a brand.

On the other hand, putting up a trade show booth is an event. So are going public and having surgery.

Events are easier to manage, pay for and get excited about. Processes build results for the long haul.” – Seth Godin, December 10, 2009

Respectfully, I have to disagree with Godin. In fact, I think it’s this thinking that’s caused organizations and businesses to fail in the online space. You see, social media isn’t an event; it’s not even a process. Both of these classifications give too much credit to the social space. Social media is simply an extension. It’s as simple as that – a mere extension of already existing business functions.

For the past year, the entire “social space” has been given too much credit and too much hype. I’m as guilty as the next person, as I fell victim to its noise as well. You spend enough time on Twitter and you’ll be inundated with ponzi-like “get rich quick” talk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing social media. I think it’s highly effective tool and it’s something I spend a lot of time and effort trying to get businesses to understand. But if you spend any time online, you’ll think it’s the second coming of Christ.

Social media is not its own entity. It’s not new. Its not innovative. Like I mentioned above, it’s merely an extension. I’ve come to realization that people don’t work in social media. There’s no such thing as a social media specialist, or guru, or expert, or whatever title you want to attach. Depending on what your goal with social media is, the space is simply marketing, communications, sales, etc. Frank Eliason (@ComcastCares) doesn’t work in social media for Comcast, he works in customer service. There’s marketing folks, communication folks, folks in sales. But there is not a single “social media [fill in the blank]”. It doesn’t exist.

We’ve all heard, or personally had, the stories of uphill battles with c-level suites that put hurdles in front of social media implementation. A lot of those hurdles were results of “experts” or enthusiasts approaching the online space as a separate entity. So if you had difficulty getting management to begrudgingly accept your entrance into the social space, why do you continue to treat it like a separate entity?

We’re finally beginning to accept the fact that while social media is about building communities and conversations, it ultimately comes down to sales and profit (see Adam’s post on conversion). With this reality check, I think it’s time to let a little wind out of the social sail. As people continue to trend toward mobile and online applications, it’s a natural progression for various business departments to follow. But let’s stop placing social media on its own pedestal. It’s time to go back to the basics and foundation that got us here. It’s about integration.

So quit talking about social media like it’s a separate entity. Stop acting like social media is this new revolutionary and magical department within an organization.

Until we stop trying to prove ourselves and make a name for ourselves online, social campaigns will continue to fizzle. It’s not rocket science, folks. Take a step back, integrate it with your traditional business plans, and watch the $$$$ come in.

Kasey Skala, owner of the consulting firm Interactive Revolution, focuses on integrating new media and emerging technology with traditional communication strategies for small business and nonprofits. Prior to Interactive Revolution, Kasey spent four years in the financial industry in various marketing and communication roles. He currently maintains the blog, The Electric Waffle. Follow him on Twitter at @kmskala

I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

At first it started as a joke, but then it became a regular occurrence…

Monday:
My neighbor: “Sell any billboards today???”
Me: Chuckle. “You know I don’t sell billboards – I work in advertising.”

Tuesday:
My neighbor: “Sell any billboards today???”
Me: Chuckle. Sigh. “You know I don’t sell billboards – I work in advertising. I’m on the account side. I develop brand strategy….”

Wednesday:
My neighbor: “Sell any billboards today???”
Me: Chuckle. Sigh. Groan. “You know I don’t sell billboards – I work in advertising. I’m on the account side. I develop brand strategy and messaging and work with our designers to produce print, interactive and….”

My parents always said first impressions were everything – so what do you really want to communicate about your job (or yourself) in the first 15 seconds? Whether it’s your neighbor, your grandmother, your current or potential employer – what’s your elevator pitch?

In the agency world, we spend hours each week helping our clients understand, and convey the value of their brand. We strive to develop consistent and concise messaging. We are constantly pulling out one good nugget here, and searching for one great tidbit from there. But sometimes we forget about our personal brand – and how to express it consistently and concisely.

After experiencing what felt like the movie “Groundhog Day” with my neighbor, here are my takeaways -

• Be concise – Cover a lot in a few words. But know your audience and be careful not to use industry jargon if it will only confuse them.
• Be consistent – We tell our clients to stay on message, so why not follow our own advice?
• Be intriguing – If you interest your audience, they’ll want to learn more, and maybe you will get to add another 15 seconds to your pitch.

I don’t sell billboards. I never have sold a billboard. But I have revisited my elevator pitch – “I build brands. And that doesn’t mean I sell billboards.”

Follow me @acraKA

I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

By Jen Beio, media planner and champion of the pursuit of internet awesomeness

I love the internet. I really do. Truly, madly, deeply.

I love it for its quiet brilliance. I mean, after LOLcats, of course.

As a self-proclaimed digital kid, I am perhaps more inclined than the average bear to jump on internet bandwagons, due partly to my age, and partly to the fact that I’m such a savvy so-and-so (I kid). As such, I often find myself defending web ideas to my suspicious circle of colleagues and friends, and am always a bit surprised to have to do so. The things I find so incredible in their simplicity tend to strike my skeptical cohorts as stalker-esque, creepy fads. Can all my Foursquare haters please stand up?

For anyone who’s unaware, Foursquare is a location-based social networking community that allows users to state their coordinates and offer helpful tips to friends and other users who might also frequent that venue. Check off items on your to-do list, earn points, win badges, and become mayor of your favorite spots by checking in there more than any other patron. Fun, right?

Last night, I found myself arguing on Foursquare’s behalf on two separate occasions. I know. I need to get a life. Anyway, both scenarios involved individuals in the advertising community, and both conversations, despite my fervent outpouring of Foursquare love, resulted only in blank stares and/or furrowed brows. What. Is up. With that.

Let’s all stop hating for a moment and contemplate what it is about Foursquare that launches it to the top of my list of quietly brilliant web innovations.

Here are the top reasons to hate on Foursquare that I’ve heard from the hater community. And, of course, the reasons I beg to differ.

1. It’s creepy.

Yes, there’s an element of weirdness to having a location feed available on the web for the masses, especially as a single female in a big city. I’m not stupid; I get that. Perhaps I will get kidnapped on the way home from my current location, and you can all have a good laugh about it (jerks). You know what? Life is creepy sometimes. And dangerous, always. This is one of those cases where I feel like the benefits outweigh the risks, so long as you’re smart about the information you share. Keep reading for more on that.

2. It’s annoying.

It’s not annoying, it’s information. Foursquare is a gold mine for consumer data. I really can’t believe that I would need to argue this to people in the industry. All pings, badges and tomfoolery aside, what Foursquare does, essentially, is give businesses a free list (a list! for free!) of digital-savvy consumers who love you enough to want to broadcast to their web community that they are a patron. These are people who carry a certain amount of digital clout that want to spread the word about you, and they are going to do it for free. And, you now have access to a list of them, what they think are the best parts about your business, and even some information about them (their Twitter handles, phone numbers, and so on). It’s a CRM-lover’s dream. How are you not excited about this?

3. Who cares?

You care! Especially all those ‘yous’ out there who are in the biz. Or, the business-owning ‘yous.’ Our job as marketers is to care. You care (a) what people do with their time (b) what they choose to tell their people they’re doing with their time and (c) when you can put your brand in front of them at the right moment in time. Not to pontificate, but if the internet is spitting out free applications that help us to gather the data that provides a foundation for our profession, it is your responsibility to care.

[A caveat: this is not to say that no-one cares. I have seen a few cool case studies of businesses who have jumped on the Foursquare train, and are riding it to Consumer-Love Station. This post about the Pit BBQ in Raleigh, for example, truly warms my heart. Kudos to you, Pit BBQ management. Consumer interaction: you’re doing it right.]

4. Why would I want to do that?

Well, this one is really up to you. I like it because it’s a game, it’s fun to do, and it gives me a tool to coordinate nights out with friends. I also like the idea of creating a database of my existence, which is why you can find me tucking seemingly trivial information into many different data-ports around the web. It seems to matter to me. Personal preference of the digital kid, I imagine. But, fun for everyone who chooses to participate, I find.

Like I said, my romantic feelings for the internet lie mainly in its outpouring of tools that unabashedly display simple, beautiful, quiet brilliance. If nothing else, I love that I’ve been able to use applications like Foursquare to build out a community of web-adoring geeks such as myself. I simply cannot wait to see what awesomeness lies ahead for those businesses that have us geeks heading up their marketing initiatives.

For all those out there who choose to remain creeped out, annoyed, apathetic and non-participating, I apologize for wasting a moment of your time.

Thanks go to my editor, Clay, for helping to un-muddle my thoughts on this one. Virtual high-five. Thanks also to Adam, for asking me to guest-post. I’m flattered, and honored.